Perfusion entails encouraging physiological solutions, such as blood, through vessels in the body or some portion of the body of a human or other animal. Perfusion can be employed in intracorporeal and extracorporeal circulation, such as during cardiopulmonary bypass surgery and other surgeries and during various therapeutic treatments. Perfusion is useful in maintaining the viability of body parts, such as specific organs or limbs, while the body part remains within the body or while the body part is exterior to the body, such as for transplantation or temporarily removal of a body part to provide access to other body structures. Perfusion can be used for a short period of time, such as less than about six hours, or for extended periods of time, such as greater than about six hours.
Sometimes, blood perfusion systems include one or more pumps in an extracorporeal circuit that is interconnected with the vascular system of a patient. Typically, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery utilizes a perfusion system that allows for the temporary cessation of the heart by replacing the functions of the heart and lungs, which creates a still operating field and allows for the surgical correction of problems, such as vascular stenosis, valvular disorders, and congenital heart and great vessel defects. Perfusion systems for cardiopulmonary bypass surgery include an extracorporeal blood circuit that includes at least one pump and an oxygenation device to replace the functions of the heart and lungs.
In cardiopulmonary bypass procedures, oxygen-poor blood is gravity-drained or vacuum suctioned from a large vein entering the heart or from other veins (e.g., a femoral vein) in the body and transferred through a venous line in the extracorporeal circuit. The venous blood is pumped to an oxygenator that provides for oxygen transfer to the blood. Oxygen may be introduced into the blood by transfer across a membrane or, less frequently, by bubbling oxygen through the blood. Concurrently, carbon dioxide is removed across the membrane. The oxygenated blood is then returned through an arterial line to the aorta, femoral, or other main artery. Medical personnel configure the perfusion system prior to each bypass procedure, which can be a time consuming process that entails significant manual input of information related to components of the system.